by Ryan Markiewicz | May 29, 2025 | Berlin's Wall
All,
Had a very nice and full day in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova.
Got in at midnight. Gordie and I both got up early and walked around the town. Pretty quiet, clean, and safe, with some cool sites. Had a nice breakfast.
Typical “English” breakfast. Delicious.
We signed up for a bike ride to a very cool underground winery. (Moldova is famous for wine.) Over 100 miles of tunnels and caves. Pretty cool. https://cricova.md/en
This place is like an underground castle.
A really cool place!
This is a picture and a thank-you letter from Yuri Gagarin, the first person to go into space. Word is that he visited here in 1964 and ended up spending the night (a combination of too much wine tasting and getting lost in the underground maze). Funny, he could get to space easier than he could find his way out of this place 😆
The bike ride itself was pretty tough. Through the city with a guide (just the 3 of us) and (I know you’re all gonna laugh at me and think I’m full of shit) but pretty much all uphill. And through mud roads once we left the city itself. It was really hard, though I felt much better that Gordie, who is an accomplished rider, also thought it was hard as hell 🤪.
Our guide, Ariel, was great. We never would have made it without him 😉
Last night we had dinner with Shelby Magid and our friends from The Atlantic Council. Just a few folks–ex-US Ambassadors, some Kremlinologists, some security folks. VERY smart people. Gordie and I just kind of took it all in.
Looking forward to arriving in Odesa today. Will be traveling with our good friends from Allrise Capital. Will meet the Mayor and the Governor of Odesa and visit the soccer stadium, the port, and the women’s soccer school. And of course, see some of our LP team members–that will be my favorite part and what I am looking most forward to 🙂
Moldova is another very cool part of the world. Ex-Soviet Republic, looking to “westernize” and keeping an eye on how things go next door in Ukraine. Would likely be the next to fall if Ukraine is defeated, so clearly they/we have a stake in how this war ends. Hoping that the peace talks soon get “real” and that the US actually brings Putin to the table instead of continuing to kick the can down the road.
Lots of old Soviet style buildings.
National Theater. Named after one of the founders of the Romanian Theater.
There’s a miniature Arc d’ Triomphe here.
Nice broad walkways and parks. Chisinau is a very clean city.
Church. 95% of Moldovans identify as Eastern Orthodox Christians
Seems to me that there is SO MUCH to gain, for Russia, for Ukraine, and for the world at large if this war can end and everyone can get on with trade and investment and economic growth (not even to mention an end to all the senseless killing).
We’ll see. And we’ll do what we can to help.
Onward!
-JB
by Ryan Markiewicz | May 27, 2025 | Berlin's Wall
All,
On my way back to Odesa. Flew from NYC to Istanbul and then to Chisinau, Moldova (cool, historical place. Look it up 😉)
The blue dot is on the flight.
The pics are out of the plane window. Â Looks very green and fertile.
And we left JFK airport at midnight last night. Flew all night and all day. And look where I ended up back in New York City in my Chisinau hotel hahahahahaha.
More tomorrow.
-JB
by Ryan Markiewicz | May 21, 2025 | News
The Logistics Plus Chile (aka LP Chile) team officially began operations in Santiago in May 2025. As Logistics Plus aims to strengthen and expand its global network, the new LP Chile office will offer both domestic and global logistics services.
The service offerings that LP Chile will specialize in are listed below:
- International ground transportation
- Ocean freight
- Air freight
- Project cargo management
- Warehousing and distribution
- Consolidation
- Drayage
- Customs clearance
Located in the country’s central valley, Santiago is Chile’s capital and largest city. It is also the political and financial center of Chile and is home to several regional headquarters for multinational corporations. Whether it is working as your 3PL or 4PL partner, Logistics Plus offers customized solutions to meet the needs of our clients.
Rogerio Alves (Branch Manager)
Email:Â rogerio.alves@logisticsplus.com
Loreto Maturana (Operations Manager, Latin America)
Email: loreto.mat@logisticsplus.com
Logistics Plus Santiago, Chile
Apoquindo Avenue, 5950 – Las Condes –
Santiago de Chile
For any requests involving our Chile office, please email chile@logisticsplus.com. We thank you for all current business and future opportunities, and we look forward to assisting you.
by Ryan Markiewicz | May 14, 2025 | News
The Logistics Plus (LP) France team continues to support and manage projects across Europe, Asia, and Africa. Here are a few of the most recent projects handled by the LP France team:
1) Vessel Charter from Turkey to West Africa
LP France successfully managed two consecutive vessel charters from Turkey to West Africa. The first shipment was 4,500 metric tons, utilizing four separate discharge ports. The second was executed shortly after the first and weighed in at 2,500 metric tons.
2) Towers from Spain to Belgium
The LP France team delivered seven towers from Spain to Belgium. The project required precise planning, staging, warehousing, and road transportation to ensure a safe and timely delivery to the client.
3) Crates from France to China
Logistics Plus France shipped 44-ton crates on a container vessel from France to China for an ongoing project.
Photos from these projects can be seen below.
by Ryan Markiewicz | May 13, 2025 | News
Logistics Plus Customs Brokerage Manager Gretchen Blough appeared on NPR’s May 12, 2025, edition of Marketplace, titled “U.S. and China Hit Pause on Tariff War.” In this episode, Gretchen discussed the temporary pause in the tariff war between the United States and China and what it means for consumers.
Listen to the full episode online at https://www.marketplace.org/episode/2025/04/18/us-and-china-hit-pause-on-tariff-war. Gretchen’s segment begins at the 10:34 mark and concludes at the 13:15 mark.
Marketplace® is a nonprofit news organization on a mission to raise the economic intelligence of the country. For more than 30 years, they have helped people become smarter about the economic forces that touch their daily lives through the unorthodox story, the casual conversation, and the unexpected angle on the news.
